Costa Rica Listed Among
Top 10 In Environmental
Index
While Switzerland
dominates the top spot
in the new environmental
performance list by Yale
and Columbia
universities, Costa Rica
came first in Latin
America and placed well
among industrialized
nations in the first
Environmental
Performance Index (EPI),
placing fifth overall,
ahead of countries like
the United States,
Canada, Italy, France
and Germany.

The EPI identifies
broadly-accepted targets
for environmental
performance and measures
how close each country
comes to these goals. As
a quantitative gauge of
pollution control and
natural resource
management results, the
Index provides a
powerful tool for
improving policymaking
and shifting
environmental decision
making on to firmer
analytic foundations.

"Costa Rica is proud to
be a global leader in
environmental
conservation," said
Costa Rican president,
Oscar Arias.

In the EPI index, Costa
Rica scored a 90
overall, with high marks
in Productive Natural
Resources, Climate
Change, Adequate
Sanitation and Drinking
Water, and Air Pollution
(ecosystems). However,
it scored poorly in
Marine Protected Areas,
Effective Conservation,
Biodersity and Habitat.